The Giver Happily Ever After
by pennroses028
Summary: Jonas and Gabriel reach the house with Christmas lights. The people that were waiting for them welcome them. Although Jonas sees the person he has already met before.


Chapter 24: The Happily Ever After

The cool, mountain night air wafts in through the open windows, filling the room with soothing freshness. Jonas awoke with a loud gasp for air, he sat up fast and patted his hands around his body as if looking for something. His hands sense the bed cover's stitched sewing patterns. He looked around the unfamiliar setting and noticed a mirror on a table desk; mirrors were rare in his community; Jonas got off of the bed and walked towards it. He looked at his pale face that had light-reddish tones on his temples, his lips were chapped and his dark brown hair had grown long since his escape. He smoothed his hair with his hand the same way he had when he was called by the Chief Elder. He shut his eyes tightly and shook the memory away. He didn't want to remember the anxiety and embarrassment of the skip, although he truly wondered about the people and the Giver.

"Jonas…?" A sweet gentle quiet voice spoke, "you're awake."

Jonas saw the girl through the mirror; she was standing near the wooden door. She had many more clothes on than the people at the community; who wore tunics. However, Jonas noticed something very extraordinary about her eyes. They were pale. But her's were much different than his pale blues, her eyes were a light green. Jonas turned around to face her and with a blink of a second, she changed. The same way the apple, the people's faces and Fiona's hair had. Jonas put his hand slowly over his mouth and the other holding the desk behind him to keep him balanced. It wasn't exactly her though, it was her eyes. _They became dark brown_. Jonas' body went cold.

"I'm sorry I…er...I'm glad you're finally up," she spoke again and gestured her golden hair behind her ear.

"Finally?" Jonas repeated. "How long have I've been asleep?"

"Six days." she answered slowly, staring at the ground.

Six days! Jonas' inner conscience talked within him. Why was he unconscious for so long? How was he unconscious? Jonas pondered in his head.

"Where is Gabe?" Jonas asked hastily uncovering his mouth.

"He's fine. He is in the living room with Grandma," the girl informed him.

"Grandma..." Jonas repeated in a whisper. The word was so much alike with the word 'grandparent'; that the Giver had taught him about.

"Thats me," another woman stepped into the room, she was much older than the girl and Jonas knew in that second who she was. He recognized the relaxed, peaceful smile on her face. She was the woman who had a facial expression of trust as she laid in the water unprotected, exposed, and free. The woman was the Elder Jonas had bathed; Larissa. Though she looked different, her skin wasn't as fragile as it had been and she was not in her wheelchair.

"Larissa," Jonas was stunned. "How are you here? Last time I heard, you had been… Released," he whispered then thought, "Is this-"

"Elsewhere." Larissa finished his question with a sentence, shaping the corners of her mouth upward. "But we'll discuss about it later, there is someone you should meet," she turned to leave then turned back, "Come along," she told him impatiently. Jonas felt happy about seeing Larissa, she was his favorite female Elder from the Community. Jonas' mind, however, creeped back to the girl's darkened eyes.

Jonas walked down a narrow hallway (with bookshelves against the walls) that lead to a room with the sparkling tree and the fireplace where Gabe sat soaking in its soothing warmth. Beside him was a boy, he looked the same age as Jonas and the girl. His name was Jacob.

"He's Rosemary's beau," Larissa loudly whispered into Jonas' ear, allowing everyone in the room to hear her. Jonas later learned the meaning of the word 'beau' and why Rosemary's eyes were changing. It had been the genetic instructors from the Community that changed them because there were no other Twelve's with pale eyes that might even have a chance to become the next Receiver of Memory, but Jonas' seeing-beyond was more powerful, so it allowed him to see the truth.

Jonas and Gabriel stayed with them for months; enjoying the new life Elsewhere had become. Suddenly, one evening when Jonas and Jacob were in the living room talking and laughing at Gabe's silly words, and Larissa and Rosemary were preparing dinner, there was a knock on the door that lead to the wilderness. Jonas saw Jacob's body freeze then looked at Rosemary who had walked into the room. Jacob stood to take Rosemary's hand and held her behind him as she walked over to open the door. No one was on the other side of the door. Jonas saw Jacob's and Rosemary's heads look down. Jacob bent down and picked up something. He stared at the object until Larissa took it to stare at it also. Moments after the three of them became very quiet they turned to look at Jonas with concerned faces.

Jonas sat in his bedroom that evening staring at the envelope with 'Jonas' written on the center. At first, the handwriting was not familiar to him but it must have been a woman's. Then he read it.

 _My dearest Jonas,_

 _If you are reading this then it means you have arrived to the place the Giver made for you. You may have met Rosemary and Jacob that I will soon meet also. Anyways, the Giver and I will be on our way to you in short time, but I wanted to write this letter to you first to inform you what has happened in the Community. There was so much chaos and emotions everywhere you looked. The planes in the sky came trashing down! One of them destroyed the Recreation Center; where Asher was. I'm sorry to say this Jonas, but I'm afraid Asher and everyone else in there did not make it out. The Chief Elder tried to call everyone into the Auditorium but no one would listen. The whole community was either crying, laughing, or screaming about the memories that came all at once into their simple minds. The children were out of control! And so were the Elders, oh those lovely Elders I admired but I couldn't watch them in so much pain, so I ran away crying and made my way to the Annex to find the Giver that I had never met before preparing the needle the Nurtures use for Release! He said he was going to be with Rosemary; that is how I found out you were there too. I_ _don't know how to explain this feeling Jonas so I hope when I see you, you will understand, like you always do. You always knew my true feelings once we began training and although I had no idea, you still tried to make me feel better and understand me even if I had a slight uneven smile, you would come to fix it. I now admire you for that Jonas, because a warmth like yours can't be denied._

 _Soon to be together again, Fiona_

Jonas was stunned, he had no idea how to feel or what to do, though now he knew his and the Giver's plan worked, and he knew what the Giver meant about being with Rosemary.

"No!" Jonas jumped off the bed and fell on his knees. He felt the choking sensation that emerged into cries and screams. Rosemary ran into the room followed by Jacob. She bent down to hold Jonas still. "He...he…," Jonas didn't want to say or even think of the word, "He killed himself!" Jonas blurted out with a sob. "And so did Fiona!"

"Shh, Jonas, shh, it's alright," Rosemary tried to solace him, "They are going to be fine," a tear rolled down her blushed cheek, "They're on their way to us," she hugged him tighter.

"No! It's not true! He lied to me! He told me he was going to stay and help the people and… and now that he is gone, they have no one!" Jonas became angry, "And he made Fiona kill herself too!" Jonas' cries became howls of anguish.

He asked to be alone; minutes after he stopped crying, he showed no emotions. He just sat on the ground imploring his mind to erase everything that had happen. If only he made a better plan! But then again, there was no purpose in if-onlys. Gabe pushed the door opened and tottered to Jonas on his chubby, wobbly legs. Jonas hugged him tightly, as he always did. He thought of everything the memories had taught him from the feelings of excitement that grew in his stomach to the feelings of complete distress that left him miserable. All of that was nothing compared to this; this was the single greatest emotional and physical pain Jonas had received in all of his days of training. A sinkhole of pain grew within him, widening, deepening, and he knew that this pain should never be shared by memory, so he decided to lie to Rosemary, Jacob, and Larissa that he would be fine.

Although the days passed with moderate ease, the nights however would have Jonas screaming from the painful dreams. Some nights it would be Rosemary who would come in and assuage him, other nights it would be Larissa. They all became anxious for Jonas. Time passed by even when it seemed impossible. Jonas fell into depression and the hole in his heart grew bigger and deeper; another thing he lied about, but of course the depression was obvious.

Jacob's fist come down on the table, "THAT'S IT, Jonas! Talk to us." Jonas stared at him and shook.

"I am," Jonas answered carelessly, "I didn't do anything,"

Jacob was scowling, "You didn't do anything. That's the problem. You never do anything," Jacob tried to sound calm, "Look, you are my best friend and I care about you but you have to open your eyes and see that it was their decision,"

"I'm sorry," Jonas' apology sounded a little flat, even to him. But he thought it was unfair, "Dying is the right decision?" Jonas asked almost scowling, "Maybe I should die too, then you don't have worry about me and think it was best decision."

"Jonas stop…" Rosemary whispered across the table.

"You all sound like the people from the Community!" Jonas stood and slammed the table with his fist, making Gabriel cry. Jonas froze, he saw the other's glance curiously watching him. He felt dizzy, he wanted to disappear, to fade away, not to exist, the same way he felt at the Ceremony of Twelve. That feeling quickly passed when Jacob moved forward and punched Jonas across the face. Jonas caught himself by the table to keep him from falling and slowly with his other hand, he felt the blood bleeding from his nose; it hurt so badly. Although now Jonas was furious, he swung his fist at Jacob's ear and with Jacob having nothing to keep him from falling, he pulled Jonas to the ground. They fought, hurting each other with punches and kicks.

"STOP! Please! Jacob no! Jonas please!" Larissa cried.

Neither Jonas nor Jacob listened to her, instead they fought harder. Calling each other names and a liar. Shortly after Jonas was forcly able to hold down Jacob he started to choke him. His hands were grasping at his throat, leaving him without air. Jacob's face began to turn into a sickening color as his sight start to close in on him. Jonas shut his eyes tightly and choked down his tears to the hole that grew within him. His nostrils flared and his mouth was in a tight line. Everything around him seemed to get dark, silent, fade away. His whole entire concentration was on his fingers curled around Jacob's neck, pressing, closing. He felt Rosemary and Larissa trying to pull him away and he heard Gabe cry harder. But Jonas could not move, could not control his body. Jacob was trying to grab Jonas' arm but he couldn't keep a grip. The tears escaped from Jonas' eyes.

"Jonas," he heard the voice clearly, it was the most beautiful voice he heard in a long time. "It's me, Fiona."

Jonas merrily watched the boy with reddish-brown hair and blue eyes play with Gabriel and struggling to keep up with him with his chubby toddler legs. It took ten, fifteen years for Jonas to agree. But Fiona wanted one so badly. They called their first child Jonathan. The purpose of the name came from his sister, Lily, from the Community when she told one of her silly stories of the twin newchild. Jonathan would never know about the Community and Fiona said that it would be okay because they had each other; Larissa, Rosemary, Jacob and their children Leah and Bella, and the Giver (who Jonas now called Grandpa).

Jonas helped Jacob build a house half a mile away for him, Rosemary, and their children. Jacob helped build Jonas' and Fiona's home, too. Jacob built a swing on an evergreen for the children. Larissa taught Jonas to read the books that he soon fell in love with the literature. Gabe loved the nature, he would wander into a new place in the woods and draw in his notebook the wonderful wilderness. The Giver taught Rosemary to play the piano and other instruments; they would spend most of the time together recovering the time they lost from the Community. Jonas' nightmares faded away and his doubts about his inability to protect Gabriel, Fiona, and Jonathan, did as well. He was now sure that this Elsewhere was harmless and perfect.

He called this Elsewhere _Heaven_.


End file.
